Wednesday, March 05, 2008

I've taken a look at the voter turnout from constituencies across Alberta and after a quick scan of the list, I've identified at least 22 constituencies that had less than 40% voter turnout. The worst turnout being in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo where nearly 80% of registered voters didn't vote. Regardless of the results, this abysmal turnout is pretty appalling.

Wow. The lowest turnouts are in a lot of the ones that turned over. That's really saying something, and it's not anything good. About anyone.

May I ask where you got your data from? I've been wondering based on my scrutineering experience whether our constituency might have actually had a particularly high turnout, at least for Alberta in this election. We had an unprecedented number of signups at the polling station, all of them legit. There were so many that they were backed up out the door as of about 5:00.

Gross! This means that only about 1 in 10 people up in Fort McMurray voted for Guy Boutilier, and yet he gets to continue representing the whole area.

Still, the old addage that people get the government they deserve holds true. I guess the next time I hear about the growth pressures this government has caused for Fort McMurray I will have a somewhat less sympathetic ear.

No, it means that 64% of a sample (21% of total) far more than big enough to be reflective of the total population voted for the PC party. In fact, it is more than likely that a higher proportion of PC voters stayed home simply because they assumed he was going to win.

This Liberal arguement that low turnout might have something to do with the losses likely means that the losses would be even worse if more people turned up.

I found better info than anonymous above, but his numbers are basically right. About 60,000 more votes were cast this election than in 2004.

The problem is that Alberta's population has gone up substantially more than that. There were 250,000 more voters registered this time around--and given how crappy the voters' lists were, that means that there were even more new arrivals to Alberta. So it doesn't negate the concern over very low turnout.

In terms of number of votes, the PC vote went up about 17%, the Liberals lost 4% of their vote and the NDP lost 12% of theirs.

What's very interesting but hasn't been looked at closely is that all of the other right-wing parties lost a substantial number of votes. The Wildrose Alliance lost 20% of the 2004 Alberta Alliance vote. Support for the Social Credit Party, the Separation Party and the Alberta Party plummeted. All told, there were 30,000 fewer votes cast for right wing "alternative" parties this time around.

Interesting investigative work there, David. It would be interesting to see what the demographics for those low participation ridings are, and compare them with that of the voters. That info might give clues as to how to better reach people when planning door to door campaigns, what issues to target, the channels of communication to use, and whether or not there are actual impediments to voting, and how those could be overcome.

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The opinions expressed on this blog represent my own and not those of my employer or any organization I may be affiliated with.In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time. I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of the various ideas running around my brain, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today.

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Who is Dave Cournoyer? I am a writer, blogger, communicator, occasional media pundit, political watcher, & proud life-long Albertan. I studied Political Science at the University of Alberta and have served as Vice-President (External) of the U of A Students' Union, Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students, and communications coordinator for Alberta's official opposition party.